Immune checkpoint regulator PD-L1 expression on tumor cells by contacting CD11b positive bone marrow derived stromal cells

BACKGROUND: Expression of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) is an important process by which tumor cells suppress antitumor immunity in the tumor microenvironment. Bone marrow (BM)–derived immune cells are an important component of the tumor microenvironment. However, the link between PD-L1 induction on tumor cells and communication with BM cells is unknown. RESULTS: This study demonstrates that BM cells have a direct effect in inducing PD-L1 expression on tumor cells, which contributes to the tumor cells’ drug resistance. This novel discovery was revealed using a co-incubation system with BM cells and tumor cells. BM cells from wild-type C57BL6 mice and the immune-deficient mouse strains B-cell(−/−), CD28(−/−), perforin(−/−), and Rag2(−/−) but not CD11b(−/−) dramatically increased the expression of tumor cell surface PD-L1. This PD-L1 induction was dependent on CD11b-positive BM cells through direct contact with tumor cells. Furthermore, p38 signaling was activated in tumor cells after co-incubation with BM cells, whereas the expression of PD-L1 was remarkably decreased after co-culture of cells treated with a p38 inhibitor. The increase in PD-L1 induced by BM cell co-culture protected tumor cells from drug-induced apoptosis. CONCLUSIONS: PD-L1 expression is increased on tumor cells by direct contact with BM-derived CD11b-positive cells through the p38 signaling pathway. PD-L1 may play an important role in drug resistance, which often causes failure of the antitumor response. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12964-015-0093-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.